"There is no beauty in the finest cloth if it causes hunger and unhappiness." - Mahatma Gandhi

Welcome!

Thanks for visiting Ethically Beautiful! This site is dedicated to the promotion of various ethical fashion practices. To learn more about the current status of the fashion industry, and how it can be improved, visit the Facts page. To read about brands that incorporate ethical practices into their production processes, visit the Brands page.

What is Ethical Fashion?

In relation to the fashion industry, the term ethical describes the way in which products are designed, manufactured, traded, and consumed. It refers to "the positive impact of a designer, a consumer choice, or method of production as experienced by workers, consumers, animals, society and the environment" (Thomas 2008:533). Corporate social and environmental responsibility are at the core of the ethical fashion movement.

Why Fashion Matters

Historically, the fashion industry has had great effect and influence on societies around the world. On an economic level, the textile industry is seen as having been a key factor in the rise of the industrial revolution and subsequent push toward globalization. On a more personal level, however, there is the simple fact that every person gets dressed each day, making fashion a part of our daily routines and traditions. In fact, it has been argued that making fashion choices, like choosing what we wear, is "one of human beings' oldest forms of expression" (Vartan 2012). Because of its prevalence in our daily lives, "fashion is intricately woven into the fabric of our lifestyles, cultures, and individual identities" (Lipke 2008).

Furthermore, there is a sort of power that accompanies fashion and dress. David Graeber asserts that there are two types of social power: "the power to act directly on others, and the power to define oneself in such a way as to convince others how they should act toward one" (Graeber 12). I believe that fashion has direct influence on this second type of power; people can use fashion to express, identify, or define themselves, giving fashion great power in our lives as social beings. Additionally, items or garments "whose value is seen to lie in their particular histories or unique identity" have the power to "be assimilated to the social identity or persona of their owners" (Graeber 12).